The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) recently walked away with two prestigious 2013 Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards presented by the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC).

For the second year in a row, NETL picked up first place honors in the “Technical or Statistical Report” category for its United States 2012 Carbon Utilization and Storage Atlas (Atlas IV). NETL also won the top award last year for the previous version of the Atlas. Meanwhile, FE received this year’s Award of Excellence in the “Internal Newsletter” category for its bi-monthly employee newsletter, inTouch.

Since its first edition in 2007, NETL’s Atlas has been consistently updated to reflect the current state of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which works by capturing CO2 from industrial sources and power plants that burn coal, then permanently storing the CO2 or putting it to good use. Atlas IV highlights the huge potential of CCS – and it estimates hundreds of years’ worth of permanent underground CO2 storage potential in the United States.

FE’s internal employee newsletter, inTouch, was also recognized for communications excellence. The newsletter connects FE employees and contractors across several offices throughout the United States, providing them with a mix of work-related and human interest stories about their co-workers. Recent editions have highlighted FE staff changes; updates on FE’s Lean Six Sigma efforts; the launching of FE’s safety campaign; employee charity activities; and the visit by a World War II Tuskegee airman during Black History Month. Each edition also contains “lighter” work reading, including a regular “10 Questions” feature in which an employee responds to 10 questions about themselves ranging from professional background to favorite books.

The articles, features, and graphic design that make up each issue have long made inTouch a favorite of FE employees. And this year it was also a favorite of NAGC judges.

The NAGC Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards program is an international competition that recognizes exceptional government communication products – like Atlas IV and inTouch – across more than 40 categories, from publications to graphic design to social media. This year’s competition drew more than 300 entries.